Page 4

Serenity

CHAPTER FOUR

Two weeks later

NEW ORLEANS

"You know you don't have to do this anymore, JeAnne. I'm not a baby."

"Yes. You are a young lady now," she says, but she remains behind me at the dressing table, brushing my hair.

I roll my eyes, trying to hide a smile. JeAnne has been my nanny for as long as I can remember. I don't remember my parents if I don't look at their photographs, but in every childhood memory, my beloved JeAnne is there.

"I'm an adult. Young lady sounds like a teenager."

"Hum."

"What does that ‘hum’ mean?"

"Don't take what I'm going to say the wrong way. I'm so happy that you're finally back home, but I'm worried that now someone will try to take advantage of your innocence. You don't know anything about life."

My parents, apparently, were very careful in their legal arrangements for me in case they died, which in fact happened when I was only five years old.

Since we have no relatives left on either side, they assigned a guardian to take care of me, Mr. Van Lith. He was already very old, even when I was still a little girl, and he was ill at the time of my parents' death. As I later learned, I was cared for by JeAnne for almost two months before he finally came to see me.

We were never close. JeAnne is my only family, and I will always be grateful to her for dedicating her entire life to me.

When I went to boarding school in Germany, Mr. Van Lith wanted to send her away. I was still very little, but I cried for almost a week, begging him to let her stay.

He gave in, and in those thirteen years since I lost my parents, she became my family.

Besides her, my main love is ballet.

"If you're talking about boys, you don't need to worry. I am not interested. I just want to be the greatest ballerina of all time."

" Just that?" she jokes. "Very modest, Miss Blanchet."

I put on a serious expression and hold her hand over my shoulder, looking at her in the mirror. "I don't know how to be anything else, JeAnne. Being a professional dancer is my life goal."

She kisses me on the head. "So that's what you will be."

"Mr. Van Lith said he wants to talk to me next week. What do you think it’s about?"

"Probably to account for your inheritance. As you said, you are an adult now."

"I'm an adult, but I won't be independent until I get married at twenty-one or turn twenty-five as a single lady."

"He’s always been a good provider. You won't need to get married to access your fortune. Wait for the right time."

"Yes, I know, and to be honest, I don't care about the money. As long as I have enough to keep up with ballet classes and buy everything I need to dance, that's fine with me."

I bite my bottom lip, thinking about what I want to ask my guardian next week.

"What’s bothering you?" she asks.

"Do you think Mr. Van Lith will agree to me setting up a ballet studio in one of the spare rooms in the house?"

"I think so. Why would he deny you something like that?"

"I don't know. I have no idea how much money I have."

"I'm sure there's enough. But I thought you would prefer to train at the dance school."

"No. I want to be able to train for hours, even outside of class time. Practice makes perfect, JeAnne. At boarding school, even though I had access to ballet classes twice a day, I felt frustrated when the teacher finished class. She only let me continue training for another hour afterward. If I have a room here at home, I can practice whenever I want."

"There are six free rooms, Serenity. I'm sure your guardian won't refuse to set up one for your training."

A week later

"I don't know if I understood you correctly," I say, when in fact I did, and very well. So well that I feel sick.

"I'm very old, Miss, and thinking about what's best for you. That's why I'm looking for someone else to take my place."

"Is it better for me if you are no longer my guardian?" I ask, trying not to show how sad the news makes me.

Even though he never acted anything but professionally towards me, I hate change.

I live my life guided by rules.

How much to eat to avoid gaining weight. How many hours for sufficient sleep in order to be able to train better. And I have always completed my studies with almost the same dedication as I do when it comes to dancing.

Losing my parents at a young age made me insecure. I created a world of my own, where everything works perfectly as long as I follow the rules.

And now, he's telling me about the possibility, not of just any change, but rather, that perhaps soon I'll have to obey a total stranger.

"I don't understand why this is necessary."

"A new guardian? It is a testamentary requirement from your parents. You know that perfectly well. He will protect your rights and assets until you are old enough to enjoy them. Believe me, it's the best solution for you, Miss Blanchet."